So I am going to give a little plug for our consumer-direct business, Signature WoodCrafters. This is our business venture that we started just this year and it has taken off. And yet, we still need more customers! So if you know anyone who is thinking of re-doing their kitchen or wants to transform their stairs or rails, please let me know! We truly do have the best people in the business, and they will work their hearts out to serve you! Check out a few of these slide shows to see our products. You can also visit our website, http://www.signaturewoodcrafters.com/, our blog, http://signature-woodcrafters.blogspot.com/, or follow us at Twitter, username, sigwoodcrafters!
And even if you aren't in the market, just take a look at these pictures - they really are truly stunning in my opinion :).
Showing posts with label Signature WoodCrafters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Signature WoodCrafters. Show all posts
Friday, November 7, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Forgive Me...
This is my blog, my corner of the universe, and as such I am going to take a moment, be selfish and pat myself on the back for making so many correct predictions this past year. This is not humble of me and it will be showing a side of myself that I am acutely aware of and keep under wraps most of the time. But I can't help myself because it is kind of uncanny how many things I correctly called way back in January of this year (see this link for my original post).
1 - I was right on the economy. Fact is, being in the housing industry puts you on the forefront of what is actually happening in the American economy, and I could have told you back in August of 2006 that we were headed for troubled times. But the idiots in Washington put their heads in the sand and refused to say that the economy was in trouble - on the other hand, there was no other way for them to play it. It was a Catch 22 - if the government acknowledged that something was wrong in the economy, things would have collapsed a lot sooner than they did. It's all about politics and spin and if the spin is negative, the markets will come crashing down.
2 - I was right on the Democrats winning the White House. I must admit, I don't like it - I don't like having a Democrat in the White House. But McCain ran one of the poorest campaigns I have ever seen - what happened to him? I know he has the experience and the record and there is not a person who has served his country more faithfully than he has, but he became muzzled and the experienced statesman that he is never publicly showed itself. I also accurately called that he would have a chance if he picked Sarah Palin as his VP - she had a shining moment at her GOP convention speech, but was then quickly derailed by the media, late-night comedians, and herself. And I don't think he would have had a better shot if he had picked someone else as his Vice Presidential running mate. The public bought into Barack's message a long time ago and the Republican party shot itself in the foot with all of the corruption scandals and mishandling of the power they had. I think it is absolutely wonderful how many people turned out to vote in this election - that is amazing and incredible and right - too many men and women have sacrificed their lives to give us that right, and to not vote is to do them a dishonor and disrespect our own freedom and rights. BUT, I am just wondering how many people are going to be severely disappointed when all the changes promised don't happen. The Democrats will become drunk with their power, just like the Republicans did, and Washington will remain the way it has always been. THAT is politics and THAT is the reality of the political system that we live in. "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely".
3 - I happened to be totally right about the Giants winning the Super Bowl - which was a fluke guess, but still the correct one! Yay for the downfall of the Patriots :).
4 - I was correct about Into the Wild not winning the Best Picture, but I still maintain that it should have.
5 - I was also correct about the bright color trend continuing.
6 - I also correctly predicted that the writers strike would last into the Spring 2008 TV season, though thankfully it did end in time for new episodes of Lost to be aired - thank the Good Lord above!
7 - I am right about the troops not being pulled out of Iraq until at least 2010. Though Obama has promised a total immediate withdrawal, the reality of the situation will not allow this to be feasible until at least 2 years into his presidency.
8- Though, this prediction came just a week ago, I did correctly predict that gas prices would fall to $1.99 on the eve of the election (Karen G can back me up on this one!), and, guess what! They did! Anyone who tells me that the oil companies do not fix their prices and do not control the politics in Washington (dad) needs to then explain to me the coincidence of the dramatic drop in gas prices during the election. I mean seriously - $1.99 gas - when was the last time that we saw $1.99 gas!? 2005? I don't care that the "market" has all of the sudden seen such a dramatic slip in demand. You tell me that the market has seen a slip in demand when prices are back to $4 next summer. I don't see a slip in demand - there is still plenty of traffic on 66 and 495 and even around the little town of Warrenton - more traffic in fact! Maybe the bubble of Northern Virginia keeps me from seeing the decline in demand, but I just don't see it. No, the conspiracy theorist in me says that the politics of oil run SO much deeper than any of us really know, and that there is more going on behind the scene. And in fact, if the gas prices were to accurately reflect the price of oil on the market, I believe that the prices should be even lower than they are.
9 - I correctly predicted that I would be moving this year! I am really excited about this - I have been keeping it kind of under wraps, but I recently found out that I will be moving (still in Warrenton, back to where I originally started 2 years ago), but I will be living on my own, which will be something completely new and exciting. I have never lived completely on my own and I'm excited/nervous to see what this new arrangement has in store for me.
And finally, number 10 - I correctly predicted that our new business venture, Signature WoodCrafters would be successful. Being involved with this start-up has been one of the hardest things I have ever worked on. Every day is a battle for survival, which is capitalism at its core. I have always tried to work hard and do my best at whatever I'm given to do, but until the work itself is a day to day struggle for survival, I have found out that I didn't know what it truly meant to work hard. It is not easy and is a battle day in and day out. Though we will probably only break even this year with this venture, that is still a victory, because I don't know many start-ups that have turned a profit in their first year, considering the massive advertising costs needed to get your name into the market. BUT, as hard as it has been, I don't know if I would trade this year for anything else. It has been exciting, taxing, draining, thrilling, hard, and totally worth being involved in. It has helped saved the rest of my coworkers' jobs, has given our company a new source of revenue, and taught me a ton - I really couldn't ask for more. I am really lucky to have the opportunities that I have at my company.
So, I ask for all of my legions of readers (all 2 of you :)) to forgive me for applauding myself and bragging about making some correct predictions about this year. And the fact that I hedged all of my bets by originally predicting that none of my predictions would come true, should negate everything that I have congratulated myself on :). And I will return back to my humble self and say with all sincere humility that it is just luck that I gave an accurate read on this stuff. To truly test my clairvoyance, I will have to accurately predict social, political, and international trends for at least two years in a row. And then if that happens, I will proudly take on Professor Larry Sabato's recently relinquished mantle of the "most accurate political prognosticator" :).
1 - I was right on the economy. Fact is, being in the housing industry puts you on the forefront of what is actually happening in the American economy, and I could have told you back in August of 2006 that we were headed for troubled times. But the idiots in Washington put their heads in the sand and refused to say that the economy was in trouble - on the other hand, there was no other way for them to play it. It was a Catch 22 - if the government acknowledged that something was wrong in the economy, things would have collapsed a lot sooner than they did. It's all about politics and spin and if the spin is negative, the markets will come crashing down.
2 - I was right on the Democrats winning the White House. I must admit, I don't like it - I don't like having a Democrat in the White House. But McCain ran one of the poorest campaigns I have ever seen - what happened to him? I know he has the experience and the record and there is not a person who has served his country more faithfully than he has, but he became muzzled and the experienced statesman that he is never publicly showed itself. I also accurately called that he would have a chance if he picked Sarah Palin as his VP - she had a shining moment at her GOP convention speech, but was then quickly derailed by the media, late-night comedians, and herself. And I don't think he would have had a better shot if he had picked someone else as his Vice Presidential running mate. The public bought into Barack's message a long time ago and the Republican party shot itself in the foot with all of the corruption scandals and mishandling of the power they had. I think it is absolutely wonderful how many people turned out to vote in this election - that is amazing and incredible and right - too many men and women have sacrificed their lives to give us that right, and to not vote is to do them a dishonor and disrespect our own freedom and rights. BUT, I am just wondering how many people are going to be severely disappointed when all the changes promised don't happen. The Democrats will become drunk with their power, just like the Republicans did, and Washington will remain the way it has always been. THAT is politics and THAT is the reality of the political system that we live in. "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely".
3 - I happened to be totally right about the Giants winning the Super Bowl - which was a fluke guess, but still the correct one! Yay for the downfall of the Patriots :).
4 - I was correct about Into the Wild not winning the Best Picture, but I still maintain that it should have.
5 - I was also correct about the bright color trend continuing.
6 - I also correctly predicted that the writers strike would last into the Spring 2008 TV season, though thankfully it did end in time for new episodes of Lost to be aired - thank the Good Lord above!
7 - I am right about the troops not being pulled out of Iraq until at least 2010. Though Obama has promised a total immediate withdrawal, the reality of the situation will not allow this to be feasible until at least 2 years into his presidency.
8- Though, this prediction came just a week ago, I did correctly predict that gas prices would fall to $1.99 on the eve of the election (Karen G can back me up on this one!), and, guess what! They did! Anyone who tells me that the oil companies do not fix their prices and do not control the politics in Washington (dad) needs to then explain to me the coincidence of the dramatic drop in gas prices during the election. I mean seriously - $1.99 gas - when was the last time that we saw $1.99 gas!? 2005? I don't care that the "market" has all of the sudden seen such a dramatic slip in demand. You tell me that the market has seen a slip in demand when prices are back to $4 next summer. I don't see a slip in demand - there is still plenty of traffic on 66 and 495 and even around the little town of Warrenton - more traffic in fact! Maybe the bubble of Northern Virginia keeps me from seeing the decline in demand, but I just don't see it. No, the conspiracy theorist in me says that the politics of oil run SO much deeper than any of us really know, and that there is more going on behind the scene. And in fact, if the gas prices were to accurately reflect the price of oil on the market, I believe that the prices should be even lower than they are.
9 - I correctly predicted that I would be moving this year! I am really excited about this - I have been keeping it kind of under wraps, but I recently found out that I will be moving (still in Warrenton, back to where I originally started 2 years ago), but I will be living on my own, which will be something completely new and exciting. I have never lived completely on my own and I'm excited/nervous to see what this new arrangement has in store for me.
And finally, number 10 - I correctly predicted that our new business venture, Signature WoodCrafters would be successful. Being involved with this start-up has been one of the hardest things I have ever worked on. Every day is a battle for survival, which is capitalism at its core. I have always tried to work hard and do my best at whatever I'm given to do, but until the work itself is a day to day struggle for survival, I have found out that I didn't know what it truly meant to work hard. It is not easy and is a battle day in and day out. Though we will probably only break even this year with this venture, that is still a victory, because I don't know many start-ups that have turned a profit in their first year, considering the massive advertising costs needed to get your name into the market. BUT, as hard as it has been, I don't know if I would trade this year for anything else. It has been exciting, taxing, draining, thrilling, hard, and totally worth being involved in. It has helped saved the rest of my coworkers' jobs, has given our company a new source of revenue, and taught me a ton - I really couldn't ask for more. I am really lucky to have the opportunities that I have at my company.
So, I ask for all of my legions of readers (all 2 of you :)) to forgive me for applauding myself and bragging about making some correct predictions about this year. And the fact that I hedged all of my bets by originally predicting that none of my predictions would come true, should negate everything that I have congratulated myself on :). And I will return back to my humble self and say with all sincere humility that it is just luck that I gave an accurate read on this stuff. To truly test my clairvoyance, I will have to accurately predict social, political, and international trends for at least two years in a row. And then if that happens, I will proudly take on Professor Larry Sabato's recently relinquished mantle of the "most accurate political prognosticator" :).
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Writer's Block
I have a hard time articulating my thoughts. Even writing them down, which is usually an outlet for me to express what is going on in my head, sometimes just does not suffice. And so, I find that I have very little to say at all today. There are things that are going on in my life, but I don't know if I find them particularly interesting enough to throw up to the whole wide world. But since I have not posted in a while, I'll attempt to give shape to the things and thoughts in my head.I guess the biggest thing going on in my life is that I am looking to buy a house and enter into the realm of "homeowner". I have been thinking about this for a while, and have expedited that thought process over the past couple of months and have come to the conclusion that now is the time to buy, and I can actually afford to do so - which I didn't think would be the case. But it is, and that is really exciting. I do have to say that looking at the places that I can afford has been a little disheartening, because they all require work to be done to them. As I think about it though, it could be an exciting challenge because I can tailor this place to fit me.
My biggest prayer for this place though has been that it just not be for me, but that it be a "haven" for others. I love having people over and I want people to be able to come to this place and feel a sense of peace, beauty, and refuge. The fact that I can buy a home is such a gift, and I want to share that gift with others.
The other big thing going on in my life is a restoration of my relationship with God. I have done a lot of reading lately (Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge, The Life You've Always Wanted by John Ortberg) and I can just hear God speaking through the pages, appealing to my heart, and saying "See? This is what I want for you. Leave your worries, your temptations, your weaknesses behind. Walk with Me. Listen to Me." I also have been listening to John Elredge's podcast excerpts from his new book, Walking with God and those have been so satisfying and convicting to listen to. I have this feeling of being on a cusp, like I am not quite there yet, but I am getting "there" - to wherever it is that God wants me to be.
I guess I also have a lot of fear right now - fear for how time keeps slipping away (cannot believe that it is the seventh day of May already) and fear for all the things that are looming ahead, most particularly baseball. The baseball summer season always does a number on me - mentally, emotionally, and physically. Time goes into hyperactive speed and yet slows to a crawl all at the same time. People keep asking me, "you don't have to go to all the games, do you?" The answer is that I don't know - based on five years of prior history, the answer is probably yes. And yet, as much as I fear it, I absolutely love it. I don't have any good reason to love it as I do, but I just can't seem to walk away from it. Because somehow the love for summer baseball seeped way down into my pores and into my being. The crack of a wooden bat, long summer nights, lots of laughter, ammoral baseball boys, and a semi-command of the game and everything that goes into producing it, keeps me tied to this love-hate relationship.
The last major thing going on is the non-stop action with our new business venture, Signature WoodCrafters. If I'm not thinking about God, a new house, or life, I'm dwelling on WoodCrafters. I love being in the midst of this, and I love the potentials that this venture has. Things are absolutely crazy, but I would rather have crazy than bored any day. Check out the links on the side here for our webpage (which is a work in process) or blog (comments are welcome!) to see some of the new stuff that we have done! It is amazing what we have done in a few short months. And I can't wait to look back at this year and be amazed at all that I have learned and what we have accomplished together as a team with this new business.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Sales, Crossroads, and Baseball
Last weekend was such a fun weekend. I got to go out on Saturday with my boss and another coworker to make homeowner sales calls and it was so much fun. These sales are all about connecting with people on a personal level and trying to educate them on our product. Our new business hasn't gotten to the point where we're going door-to-door like used vaccuum cleaner salesmen - we just go to people's houses who have contacted us about our product. The fun part for me, since I don't have much technical knowledge was just learning about the actual product that we are selling and realizing that we have the potential to kill the market with our product. I also loved going to people's houses and seeing how different each homeowner's sense of style was - and how their homes reflected their personality.
Sunday though - Sunday was a breath of fresh air. I got to go to my church in Charlottesville that I went to when I lived there and it was like going home. I belonged there and I love the pastor and his message and how the Holy Spirit's presence is just so evident! There is not a church that I have been in that I have truly felt God's presence other than this church. It is almost physically painful thinking about going to St. John's where everything feels so dead. Father Gregory has truly created a beautiful community who's focus is both on Christ, each other, and the larger Charlottesville community. God just has a beautiful way of speaking through Fr. Gregory and straight to my heart. This week he talked about being at a crossroads - that Easter and the Resurrection has provided us all with a new choice - we can walk with life, seeking to live in Christ's way, to believe in Christ and who He said He was, and to serve and love each other. Or we can ignore what we have heard and continue to live life our own way.
I really identified with this message, mainly because of the use of the analogy of the crossroads, because I feel as if I am in a crossroads sort of place myself. The path I have been walking along recently has split itself into several different other paths and I have to decide which one I'm going to walk along. It is a very tough decision, but I think I have picked one and have dedicated myself to pursuing it, which is both exciting and scary. I am housesitting this weekend and so hope to examine my decision some more and figure out the best way to pursue it.
I am also currently reading a John Ortberg called "The Life You've Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People" and I really, really like it. It has sparked a lot of thoughts and ideas of things that I want to pursue in order to experience my relationship with Christ on another level. For so long I feel like I have just been pulling at straws and not pursuing a relationship with my Creator. But, like the crossroads that I am at, I feel like this is another part of the path that I have chosen - a desire to deepen my relationship with Christ.
Lastly, I am so ready for summer baseball to start. For the first time in a long time, I'm not really dreading this season - I'm excited for it. Maybe I'm just crazy and am turning into a workaholic, but there is this part of me that just wants to be outside, watching a good baseball game. I also have realized that I am a baseball snob, because when I actually got to go to a college baseball game this past Tuesday, I wished that I was hearing the crack of a wood bat instead of the ping of the metal bats that they use in college. I guess I'll have to make my way over to the new Nats stadium till June 1st rolls around...
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
50/50 on my 2008 Predictions :)
I feel like I should turn into John McGaughlin or Bill O'Reilly now because 5 out of the 10 predictions I made have come true - and it's only March! :) This of course could be because they were pretty simple and obvious predictions...
The Five that have come True are...
1. The US Economy is in a recession - Energy prices and the credit crunch continue to spell doom, doom, DOOM on the NYSE and the housing market shows no signs of a recovery anytime soon. And as the dollar continues to drastically weaken and more and more companies are having to be bailed out by the Fed, the question is, where is the bottom, will the economy affect the election (of course), will Americans stop spending money they don't have (no), and will the globalization of the marketplace be the undoing of the affluence of America? I think there are a lot of hard times ahead and people are going to be caught unawares and wake up one morning and the way of life that they have become accustomed to will be gone - kind of like the Biblical famines of old when people were constantly put on the brink of destruction because of crop failures or locust plagues - we need a Joseph who will help us save and put away stores of crops to protect us against the coming famine.
2. The Giants will win the Super Bowl - Turns out they did win the Super Bowl and in the most dramatic of fashions - that was a game to be remembered for the ages.
3. The Bright color trend in clothing will continue - I think I was more than dead-on this one since every single magazine is splashed with pages and pages of bold colors.
4. Into the Wild won't win the Best Picture Oscar - and unfortunately it didn't. But I still think it was the best movie of the 2007 season. I haven't seen "No Country for Old Men", but I don't really want to see a movie about a ruthless serial killer relentlessly pursuing some guy who stole a bunch of drugs from a drug deal gone awry.
5. Signature WoodCrafters, Signature Companies' new consumer-direct business venture will be successful - Luckily, I was correct with this prediction, and thank goodness! To date we have generated great lead responses, which is incredible. Here's hoping that the next three months will bring just as many, if not more, lead responses for our business!
And here's another prediction for 2008 - I unfortunately will not win my company's March Madness pool - dang Duke, Georgetown, and Pittsburgh. Here's hoping that Davidson pulls off two more upsets and makes it into the Final Four - that would be awesome.
The Five that have come True are...
1. The US Economy is in a recession - Energy prices and the credit crunch continue to spell doom, doom, DOOM on the NYSE and the housing market shows no signs of a recovery anytime soon. And as the dollar continues to drastically weaken and more and more companies are having to be bailed out by the Fed, the question is, where is the bottom, will the economy affect the election (of course), will Americans stop spending money they don't have (no), and will the globalization of the marketplace be the undoing of the affluence of America? I think there are a lot of hard times ahead and people are going to be caught unawares and wake up one morning and the way of life that they have become accustomed to will be gone - kind of like the Biblical famines of old when people were constantly put on the brink of destruction because of crop failures or locust plagues - we need a Joseph who will help us save and put away stores of crops to protect us against the coming famine.
2. The Giants will win the Super Bowl - Turns out they did win the Super Bowl and in the most dramatic of fashions - that was a game to be remembered for the ages.
3. The Bright color trend in clothing will continue - I think I was more than dead-on this one since every single magazine is splashed with pages and pages of bold colors.
4. Into the Wild won't win the Best Picture Oscar - and unfortunately it didn't. But I still think it was the best movie of the 2007 season. I haven't seen "No Country for Old Men", but I don't really want to see a movie about a ruthless serial killer relentlessly pursuing some guy who stole a bunch of drugs from a drug deal gone awry.
5. Signature WoodCrafters, Signature Companies' new consumer-direct business venture will be successful - Luckily, I was correct with this prediction, and thank goodness! To date we have generated great lead responses, which is incredible. Here's hoping that the next three months will bring just as many, if not more, lead responses for our business!
And here's another prediction for 2008 - I unfortunately will not win my company's March Madness pool - dang Duke, Georgetown, and Pittsburgh. Here's hoping that Davidson pulls off two more upsets and makes it into the Final Four - that would be awesome.
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